Chuck vs The Virus (Take Two)
by Charahfan44
Summary: A re-write to Chuck vs The Virus. Someone asked me to re visit this fic, and I hated the last draft so much that I had to change it. The concept is the same, the story and writing is much better. Chuck and Sarah are divorced, but have to team up once more when their daughter falls ill. I DO NOT OWN CHUCK!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm making more minor (yet significant) changes to each chapter. I wasn't quite sure where to take this, but now that I know, I'm going to make everything fit together. Sometimes my ideas get jumbled, and I don't know how to make them fluid. But alas, I'm gonna try anyway! Enjoy.**

* * *

**Present Day 2019**

"Get up, lazy." Emma Bartowski shook her mother, who was still asleep underneath the covers.

"Go away." Was the reply. Emma giggled. The five year old loved her mother more than anything in the world. She still didn't understand why her mom and dad didn't live together anymore, but at least she still got to see them both.

"But mommy, I wanna play." Emma whined. Sarah Walker groaned. Sometimes having a small child was a pain. 37 hit her fast, she still felt as if she were 30, married and full of energy. She still had energy of course, but not as much as she had in the past. It was only seven years ago that she had almost died from the intersect, seven years ago that she had been married to Chuck Bartowski. Now everything was different, and she was losing herself just like she had before. Not everything that had happened in these past few years had made sense to her, but there were some things that she had to do for herself in order to get to where she wanted to be.

"Give me a minute." Sarah pulled the covers over her head. Emma climbed up onto the opposite side of the bed, and slid underneath the covers as well.

"It's dark in here." She laughed. Sarah turned her head to look at her daughter. She pulled Emma in close, and took a deep breath.

"Yes it is." She smiled, while resting her eyes for just a few moments more. They stayed there for a good fifteen minutes, when they heard a knock at the door. Beckman had agreed to certain working hours so that she could still spend time with Emma, but the mission she was working on required much time away from home. It hadn't exactly been easy, but it was worth it. Sarah had moved back to Echo Park, letting Chuck keep the house, as she wasn't usually home. The only time she really stayed at home was when she had Emma. And that was normally only for a week or two at a time.

"Daddy!" Emma got up, and rushed out of the room to open the front door. Sarah rolled her eyes and got out of bed. She walked to the door to see her ex-husband and daughter laughing furiously.

"Oh, hey Sarah." He put Emma down, and smiled.

"Why don't you go and get your bags?" Sarah said to her daughter. They always packed the day before.

"So, uh, I'll have her back by next Sunday." Chuck said. Conversations had never been their strong suit. Or at least they hadn't been since Sarah had lost her memories. That was the main problem with their second time around, the lack of communication killed all feelings.

"Okay, whenever is fine. I may not be back for a few weeks anyway." Sarah leaned against the doorframe, with her arms folded. Chuck swallowed hard at the sight of his gorgeous ex-wife. She was wearing very short white shorts, and a form-fitting red tank top. She had let her hair grow out again and her blonde curls fell perfectly below her chest. But what always got him most were her beautiful, striking, bottomless blue eyes. The sunlight hit her face perfectly, and Chuck definitely heard the Hallelujah chorus sounding in his head. He hadn't been the one to ask for a divorce, but it didn't shock him to learn that Sarah wanted one. She really hadn't ever come back to him, even though she tried her hardest. He was amazed at how great she was with Emma, however. They hadn't meant to get pregnant, but it happened when they were at their worst. Fighting every day, ignoring each other when they returned home from work, you name it. They tried to stick it out once Emma was born, but it just didn't work. They divorced when Emma was just barely two, and they only shared awkward conversations when one came to pick her up from the others' home.

"Crazy new mission?" He asked.

"You know I can't say anything…Beckman would kill me." Sarah gave him a hinting look.

"How is Becky?" Chuck laughed, looking around the room.

"Still demanding as ever." Sarah smiled uneasily, shaking her head at him. The two both knew something that neither of them could say out loud.

"And uh, Derek?" Chuck forced out the words, referring to her new partner and boyfriend.

"Fine." Sarah didn't go into detail. They had been dating for about six months, partnered for three years, and Chuck had just recently found out thanks to Emma who loved to talk.

"I'm ready to go daddy." Emma came back out to the main room, a Hello kitty backpack strapped to her shoulders.

"Alright," He smiled, "Say goodbye to mommy." Emma turned around, and let Sarah pick her up. She hugged her mother.

"Bye mommy. I love you." She wiggled down from her mother's arms, and took Chuck's hand in hers.

"Love you too Emma." Sarah waved goodbye to her five-year-old. She hated seeing Emma leave, but knew she was much safer with Chuck. She shut the door and leaned up against it, sighing heavily. Seeing Chuck never got easier. She thought that with time, maybe the awkward exchange of words would become more fluid. Maybe they could at least be friends. She hated the fact that she could never be the Sarah he had married in the first place, she always felt as though she was in a constant competition with herself. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she really did miss him. He was the one person that she knew she could trust and talk to whenever she needed an outlet. She just couldn't become what he wanted her so desperately to be.

* * *

"Higher daddy!" Emma screamed as Chuck pushed her on the park swing. They had stopped by their usual spot on the way back to the house, where he normally tired her out in time for her afternoon nap. He laughed and shook his head in amusement, pushing her higher.

"Wow, you don't see very many men with their children these days." A female voice sounded behind Chuck.

"Uh no, no you don't." He replied while turning around. The woman was petite, with short brown hair, and green eyes.

"I'm Taylor." She stuck out her hand. Chuck shook it reluctantly. It wasn't normal for a stranger to introduce themselves.

"Nice to meet you." He said back. He focused hard, trying to flash on the stranger, but couldn't get anything to go off in his head. He had spent so much time trying to get the intersect back, and hoped to use the last upload to save his wife, but couldn't. Now all he wanted was to get the dang thing out of his head but vied to use it only when needed, in order to maintain his family's safety.

"Daddy, push me again!" Emma demanded.

"Sorry, I should probably get back to spending time with my daughter." He said to the strange woman, pointing to Emma.

"Maybe I'll see you again, Chuck." She smiled and walked off. Chuck frowned, knowing for certain that he hadn't given this woman his name. He took Emma and left the park in a hurry, as he didn't want to stay there any longer with the unknown woman lurking around.

* * *

"I didn't want to leave." Emma pouted as she walked into the house, with Chuck trailing in behind.

"I know, but we needed to come home."

"Why?"

"Because I said so." Chuck said, using the oldest saying in the book.

"That's a bad answer." Emma said, sticking out her lower lip.

"Why don't you go upstairs and play?" He asked. Emma nodded and ran up to her room. He hadn't even put his keys down on the small table next to him, when the doorbell rang. Chuck turned around and opened the door, as he was still an arm length away.

"Yo, Chuck! Wazzup?"

"Morgan? What are you doing here?"

"We have some business to discuss." Morgan winked.

"I have Emma today, Morgan." Chuck sighed, as his best friend slid past him and entered the house.

"Well, we can work around that." Morgan entered the living room, picking up Chuck's movies and videogames and pictures and looking at them.

"Uncle Morgan!" Emma rushed into the room, hugging the short bearded man.

"Hey there, squirt." He hugged her back.

"Do you wanna play princess with me?" Emma gave him the famous Chuck Bartowski puppy eyes. Morgan turned to Chuck.

"We'll talk later." He rushed upstairs with Emma, talking about tea and dresses.

* * *

The new base was located in an abandoned warehouse just a few miles away from Echo Park. Sarah had met Derek there, so that General Beckman could debrief them on their new mission. It was their job to retain the information of the double agents working for the CIA and the Y Agency. Their target was Yance Gold, the creator of this new agency, as his goal was to bring down the CIA and rid the world of the agents altogether. They were to find his hiding place, hack into the computers, and copy the information onto a specific hard drive they had been given.

"We won't fail, general." Derek seemed a little too eager for this mission.

"Good. The private jet will be ready for you in two hours. Don't be late." Beckman's face disappeared from the screen in front of them.

"You doing okay?" Sarah turned to her boyfriend. Derek was a 6"4' blonde, with a fit body, and beautiful green eyes. He had been in the spy game almost as long as Sarah had. He was a great partner, but lately he had been a little distant.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He leaned down and kissed Sarah quickly, walking to the armory to get his gun ready. She followed him.

"I know that Gold killed your brother, but if that's going to get to you, I don't want you to go." Sarah said sympathetically. There was something bigger at play here, but she needed to stay focused on the task she had been given three years prior.

"Babe, I'm fine. Really." He replied while keeping his focus on finding the perfect gun.

"Look, you just got back from France and I've only seen you for an hour. I missed you." Sarah whined. This made Derek look back at her. Nobody could resist the whiny seduction trick of Sarah Walker's. He saw her hurt expression and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist while she put hers around his neck.

"I know, I hate being gone so much, especially with my extremely hot girlfriend waiting for me here." He smiled and kissed her. She pushed her body against his, and deepened the kiss. He groaned with pleasure. They had a few seconds together, when Sarah's phone suddenly rang. They pulled apart, out of breath.

"Good lord, can I ever get just one moment of peace?" She unlocked her phone and answered. "Hello? What! Which one? Okay, I'll be right there Chuck." She hung up.

"What's up?"

"Emma has a high fever, so Chuck just took her to the hospital. They have no clue what's going on." Sarah left castle in a rush, and sped to the hospital where Ellie and Devon worked, which was where Chuck had undoubtedly taken Emma. She burst through the two front doors of the ER with Derek at her side. She saw Ellie immediately.

"Ellie!" She said hastily to the familiar brunette. "What's going on?"

"We don't know yet. Emma keeps slipping in and out of consciousness. She's in room 307 with Chuck." Ellie replied.

"Thank you." Sarah rushed to the room, and entered quickly. She saw her baby lying in the hospital bed, looking frail and sick. She couldn't understand. Emma had been completely fine just a few hours ago. What could've happened in that time?

"Sarah, thank god you're here." Chuck walked toward his ex-wife, but stopped when he saw Derek.

"You must be Chuck." Derek stuck out his hand. Chuck reluctantly took it.

"You must be Derek."

"Chuck, what happened? She was fine this morning." Sarah ignored the nice act of the two men. She walked up to the bed and sat down next to her daughter, stroking her small blonde curls.

"I don't know. Morgan came over and they were playing upstairs, and the next thing I know, he's bringing her down to me in his arms, unconscious." Chuck shook his head. Tears welled in Sarah's eyes as she looked to her daughter once more, but held them back as she refused to cry. Chuck looked away as Derek and Sarah shared a moment, not being able to stand the sight of Sarah with someone else. Ellie showed up just in time, knocking on the door softly.

"I'll uh, leave you guys to talk." Derek kissed Sarah's forehead and walked out of the room.

"Ellie, what's going on? How can she get sick like this all of a sudden with no warning?" Chuck needed answers.

"We don't know. We have a group of specialists looking at her tests. They did find a virus in her bloodstream, but we have no idea how to cure it."

"What kind of virus?" Sarah got up from the bed and stared at Ellie.

"A toxin called Ditorium. They've seen it once before but that was a male patient in his early twenties." Ellie explained. Sarah's face got grim, and Chuck noticed immediately.

"What? What do you know Sarah?" He asked.

"I think this has something to do with my assignment."She looked out the window of the room.

"Derek?" Chuck asked quietly.

"We're working on catching Yance Gold, and his main weapon of choice is Ditorium. Derek's brother died from Ditorium poisoning a few years back.

"What?"

"We need to call Morgan and Casey, it's time."

"How the hell did Emma end up a part of this?"

"We should've kept her a secret, I'm so stupid." Sarah rested her face in her hands.

"You're not stupid, Sarah. We can do this, just like we used to. We'll get the cure and finish your mission at the same time. We've been planning this for three years." Chuck assured her. The assignment that had taken his wife away was about to be finished.


	2. Chapter 2

**Present Day 2019**

Leaving the hospital wasn't easy, but Chuck and Sarah knew what they needed to do. Ellie had said that she would watch Emma, which eased their absence a bit. Plus, Alex said she would stay at the hospital to make sure Emma was safe. Derek and Sarah took the Porshe, while Chuck used his Nerd Herder to drive to the Echo Park apartment. He called Morgan and Casey from the road, asking for their help as well.

"I still don't get why we're meeting here." Derek said. He was annoyed with the fact that his girlfriend's ex-husband was invited to her apartment.

"Can we please not do this right now?" She asked. "Emma is his daughter too. This has nothing to do with anything but her."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

"I get it. He was my husband and we have a lot of history, but I really just need to focus on saving my daughter right now, Derek." Sarah sighed, speeding up the car.

"I completely get it, I promise I'll help in every way possible."

"Thank you." It didn't take them long to get to the apartment, and Chuck was waiting for them when they arrived.

"I called Casey and Morgan." He said.

"Great, did you fill them in?" Sarah asked, opening the front door.

"Of course, and they're on their way." He gave her a short nod, entering after her and Derek.

"Is the entire CIA going to show up too?" Derek snapped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chuck snapped equally.

"I'm just saying, this doesn't take a million people."

"No, but it does take our team." Chuck had a hard time staying calm around the agent.

"Your team?" Derek laughed. "Sarah and I are a team, you're a washed up has-been."

"Guys, stop! We don't have time for this." Sarah got in between them, pushing the two grown men away from each other as they crept closer and closer.

"Sorry." Chuck mumbled.

"Sorry." Derek mimicked Chuck's low tone.

"Hey, where's the party?" Morgan's voice sounded from behind, followed by a familiar grunt. Chuck shook his head at Morgan's attempted cheer-up.

"Why are we meeting here?" Casey was straightforward.

"The location of castle is pretty hard to find." Sarah said to him.

"So, how are we going to get there?" Morgan asked.

"We drive." Sarah said.

* * *

"Wow. This is INCREDIBLE!" Morgan was stunned at the sight of the new castle. The space was huge, and there were other agents walking around different parts of the warehouse.

"Follow me." Sarah led them to a door that joined to the building next to them. This one looked exactly like the old castle except it was bigger. More guns, bigger holding cells, bigger interrogation rooms, more computers, it had everything.

"Huh." Casey grunted in approval of the building.

"We have loads of files on Gold, but we need to find his location." Derek plopped down into a chair and scooted it up to the big grey table in front of the main computer. He pulled a keyboard out of nowhere, and continued his search for the man that had killed his brother. Sarah grabbed some files out of a nearby cabinet, and sat down next to him, opening the folder. A big picture of Yance Gold was revealed underneath the manila color of the folder.

"I don't understand. We have every single bit of information but his location." Sarah buried her face in her hands. Derek rubbed he back, and Chuck felt a bout of uneasiness.

"I'm just gonna go…look around." He said, walking out of the main area. He was shocked at the resemblance of the old castle. He looked around for a little while, and then stopped to stare at the supply closet that jumped out in front of him. The memories of him and Sarah flooded back into his brain. They used to sneak around when they stayed late, but when Casey accidentally stumbled upon them, they never did again. That was back when Sarah had been real and true. That was back when Chuck had his wife by his side.

"What are you doing?" Sarah's voice interrupted Chuck's thoughts.

"Uh, nothing." Chuck started to think about Sarah and Derek together in the supply closet, but shook the thought immediately.

"I know we have a good team, but I'm going to need you the most Chuck. Yes, Derek is my partner but you and I work best together, and you're Emma's father. I think we need to stick together through this."

"I agree. We both know that we're the best when we're together, with the team."

"She's our daughter. We _have_ to save her."

"I know, and we will. Whatever it takes, I'll do it." Chuck said with clarity.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but we found something." Derek always knew how to interrupt their most peaceful of moments.

"You didn't interrupt anything," Sarah said, walking up to her boyfriend, "What did you find?"

"A house that Mr. Gold apparently loves to visit once every week. You ready to go save Emma?" He asked.

"You bet." She kissed him, and they walked away together. Chuck had been so close to having a completely un-awkward conversation with Sarah, and he surely wasn't about to stop trying to become close to her once more.

* * *

"Any change?" Ellie walked into Emma's room at the hospital. Devon had taken the day off to watch her, as Alex had to work. Devon stared at his niece and sighed.

"No. Have they found out any more information? What about Chuck, has he called?" Devon asked.

"Sadly no. The specialists don't know any more than we do and I haven't heard anything from Chuck." She walked over to her husband and sat down next to him.

"How much time?" Devon looked into her sad eyes.

"Not much. They said they'd give her up to two weeks, maybe less. But by then she could go into a permanent coma. Chuck needs to hurry; he's running out of time."

"Mommy." A soft whisper came from the five year old. Ellie and Devon jumped up from the chair and were immediately at her side.

"Hey Emma, how are you feeling?" Ellie tried to comfort her niece.

"Where's my mommy?" Her eyes fluttered open.

"She had to go get something for you." Devon said.

"Where's daddy?"

"He went with her." Emma's eyes closed again.

"Emma? Emma can you hear me?" Ellie shook her slightly. The child didn't respond.

"She's lost consciousness again." Devon stated.

"They need to be fast. She's running out of time."

* * *

"This house is registered to a Marcy Gold." Sarah said to everyone. They were in the back of a big van, strategizing.

"I'm guessing girlfriend. Evil guys always have tons of women." Morgan said.

"Actually, his birth certificate states that Marcy is his mother. We checked before we left." Derek looked at Morgan weirdly.

"Right. I…uh…well…" He stuttered.

"Let's just get on with it, moron." Casey smacked him upside the head.

"Look, we just need to go in and see if there are any pictures or anything we could tie his location to." Sarah explained to them.

"But she's home." Derek interrupted.

"That's why Sarah here is going to pose as a makeup saleslady, while we sneak in through the back." Chuck smirked.

"Good idea, babe." Derek looked to Chuck slyly before leaning to kiss Sarah, but she rejected him.

"It was Chuck's idea." She ignored Derek's jealous look, grabbing her supplies and exiting the van, walking swiftly to the front door of the petite house. Chuck, Casey, and Derek grabbed their guns and started to exit the van.

"Hey! I need someone in here with me!" Morgan yelled. Casey and Chuck turned to Derek.

"It's your lucky day, rookie." Casey said with a slight smile.

"You can't tell me what to do. And I'm not a rookie." Derek retorted.

"If you've forgotten, this is our team. So yes, I can tell you what to do. And for our team, you are a rookie. So unless you want to go back to castle and help out on some other mission, I suggest you listen to me and get back into the van." Casey got close to him. Derek glared and turned around, re-entering the big vehicle.

"Thanks, Casey." Chuck said gratefully.

"I didn't do that for you, idiot. That kid was getting on my last nerve. He doesn't even hold a gun the right way. C'mon, let's go." And with that, they snuck to the back of the house. Sarah had already gotten in through the front, and was talking to the old lady as Chuck and Casey entered. They started searching for even the slightest clue.

"Casey, look." Chuck whispered. A phone number was posted on the fridge.

**Yancey: 555-7896**

"What a clueless old lady." Casey grunted. They pulled the number off the fridge and exited through the back. When they were back in the van, Casey talked to Sarah through her earpiece.

"Walker, we have what we need. Get out of there." It only took Sarah a few minutes to exit the house.

"What did you find?" She didn't even notice her pouting boyfriend.

"A phone number. We already traced it to a law firm not far from here." Casey told her.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Morgan started up the van, and they headed towards their location. When they showed up, they noticed that the building was empty.

"We just need to go in." Sarah started to exit the van, but Casey grabbed her arm.

"We have no idea what's in there. We have no clue what we're up against."

"There's a good chance that the cure for my daughter is in there. We don't even know how much time she has left. She's only five years old Casey, and I got her into this. I put her in danger. And I'm going to get her out of it." She ripped her arm away from her old partner and walked outside. Chuck rushed out behind her, eventually falling instep beside her. "Not you too, Chuck."

"I'm with you on this. We're going to save her, Sarah." He felt the urge to grab her hand, but refrained from doing so. Once they entered the building, Casey and Derek had caught up. Morgan never left the van.

"What? There's nothing here!" Sarah exclaimed. The main entrance had been open, but the building was spotless. The blue carpet was unstained, with no people or furniture around.

"That's right." A man stepped out of the shadows in front of them.

"Gold." Derek whispered.

"Surprise! You like my little scavenger hunt?" His laugh was beyond maniacal.

"Not exactly." The four drew their guns.

"Whoa. Not the friendly gang are we?" He laughed again.

"Not at all." Chuck spat at him.

"Tell us where the antidote is. Tell us how to save our daughter!" Sarah screamed at him.

"Hmm…is that the little blonde kid who was too easy to trick?" He asked. Sarah's eyes blazed with fury. She was a millisecond away from snapping like a twig.

"I'm not here for your games. Tell us where the antidote is or I'll blow your brains out." She smirked.

"No can do sweetness. I think I'll let her die." He laughed louder this time and Sarah lost it. She attacked him at full speed, kicking and punching. She pinned him to the ground and placed all of her fury into her punches to his face. The rest of the team rushed over to her, trying to pull her off. Derek and Casey pulled her back, while Chuck searched him for the antidote. He found it in a little vial and tossed it to Sarah, not noticing Gold stand up behind him.

"Chuck! Look out!" Sarah screamed but it was too late. Gold had him in a choke hold with one arm, while placing a gun to his temple with the other.

"Thanks for falling for the distraction, I appreciate the help." Gold winked.

"What are you talking about? Let him go!" Sarah couldn't let Chuck get hurt.

"You'll see." Was his reply.

"Chuck! No!" Sarah watched a solid wall appear between her and her ex. She felt a sudden swell of fear come over her, as Chuck disappeared. She felt nothing toward him, yet she felt as protective of him as she did Emma. She had no time to worry about him however, as Emma had little time left. She was going to save her daughter, and then she was going to save her ex-husband. No matter what it took.


	3. Chapter 3

**Present Day 2019**

The fifth blow to the head didn't hurt, as Chuck couldn't feel anymore. His eyes were swollen shut, and he couldn't feel his face at all. He had been beaten to a pulp, but he still wouldn't give up the information that Gold needed. The plan had originally been for Chuck to be captured at a rendezvous point, but with Emma thrown into the mix things hadn't turned out as planned.

"I'm only going to ask you one more time Mr. Bartowski, where is the new version of the intersect?" Gold was centimeters away from his face.

"Go to hell." Chuck managed to say. He was punched in the stomach this time, harder than before. They could use him as a punching bag all they wanted, but Chuck wasn't going to tell them anything. He was just hoping that he team would show up before it was too late.

* * *

**_August 2015_**

_Sarah hadn't wanted to come back to the agency, but knew she would be lost without it. She snuck out of the house quietly, and promised herself that she wouldn't be gone long. She pulled her new Porsche into an empty parking space outside of the abandoned warehouse that Beckman has given her the directions to, taking a moment to herself before getting out and going back to the life she knew. This base resembled much of castle, and was filled with agents working away._

_"Sarah Bartowski?" An unfamiliar face asked her._

_"Uh, yeah, I guess that's me." She responded uncertainly._

_"Beckman will brief you in room twelve. Down the hall to your left." He pointed ahead of her._

_"Beckman is here?"_

_"Yes." He walked away, leaving Sarah to find her way to the briefing room. She found it easily, as taking direction wasn't hard for a trained assassin._

_"Walker, thank you for coming." Beckman nodded at her with a smile._

_"Why am I here? I told you I needed to find myself. I have a baby now, Beckman. With all due respect, I don't know that I want to stay." Sarah spoke her mind immediately._

_"I understand, but I think this assignment is one that you've been needing."_

_"What is it?"_

_"You could call it a seduction if you'd like, but we have an agent here that shouldn't be. We need someone to get into his heart and mind, causing him to give up his secrets."_

_"And you think that a married woman is the best possible choice?"_

_"If you don't mind my asking, are you really happy Agent Walker?"_

_"I'm at ease."_

_"But is that where you want to be?"_

_"I'm not an agent anymore. I'm a civilian."_

_"Is that what you feel or what you've been told? Walker, we need your skillset and willingness to get your hands dirty. Maybe time away from this new life is something that will help you. You aren't the woman you evolved into, you're the Sarah Walker that only knows this job." Beckman persuaded._

_"Who is the rogue agent?"_

_"His name is Derek Johnson."_

_"The top agent in the CIA?"_

_"Yes, we've been keeping a close eye on him throughout his time in the agency. His real name is Jacob Gold, and his father is one of the highest paid arms dealers in America. We think they have a bigger plan in store, and we have to figure out what it is. Ease your way into his life, and figure out what it is they're planning."_

_"If I do this, I'm going to need help."_

_"Of course, we'll get you the best agents in the agency."_

_"No, I need my team."_

_"Very well. Bring them in as soon as possible."_

* * *

**Present Day 2019**

"Ellie, what's wrong?" Sarah saw the sad face as she walked into the hospital room.

"Sarah, I don't know how to tell you this..." Ellie trailed.

"Tell me what?" Sarah couldn't take any more bad news.

"The vial wasn't effective. And she's out of time." Ellie hung her head. Sarah couldn't breathe. Her daughter was days from dying, and there was nothing they could do to help her. Her baby was going to be leaving her, and she didn't know what she was going to do. Emma was the only constant in her life. Emma was a part of her, a part of Chuck. Now she had lost them both.

"I'm sorry, I just need some air." Sarah left the room, the world spinning around her. She couldn't think as she leaned against the wall outside Emma's room. A strong voice caught her attention.

"Hey, what's happening?" Derek's voice was understanding and loving. As much as she needed to play along with his emotions, she couldn't think about anything except the fact that Derek was the reason Emma was in this position. She wasn't supposed to be saving her daughter, she was supposed to be saving Chuck.

"The vial wasn't filled with an antidote. Whatever Gold planned had to do with Chuck. He used Emma as leverage, and now he has my husband."

"Ex-husband." Derek said immediately.

"That's what I said."

"It's definitely not what you said, Sarah. Do you have feelings for him or not?"

"I never did. I never had feelings for him, Derek. He was there, but there wasn't anything between us." She kept up her charade.

"Well obviously there was something between you, the proof is in there." He pointed to Emma's room.

"I tired. I tried so hard to be the woman that he remembered, but I couldn't. I don't know how he got me to marry him, I don't know how I loved him, but I couldn't get it back. It took me two years to realize that it was never going to work. That doesn't mean I don't care about him. He was my husband, and he tried to help me every single day until we split. I owe him everything, he gave me the one good thing in my life."

"Sarah! Come quick!" Ellie called from inside the room. Sarah's eyes widened as she rushed to her daughter's side. As she entered, she was greeted by the opened eyes of her five year old.

"Mommy?" Emma asked groggily. Sarah's eyes welled with tears. The lump in her throat got bigger and bigger with every step she took towards the most important thing in her life. Sarah hugged Emma close, stroking her blonde curls gently.

"I'm here." Sarah held onto her daughter, soaking up every moment of this happiness to remember forever.

* * *

"It looks as if you were lying to us Mr. Bartowski." Gold paced in front of the chair Chuck was strapped to.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about. There isn't a new version of the intersect." Chuck had been leading them on the entire time, trying to buy himself more time.

"Yes, we just figured that out. There's only one version left in the entire world, and it's in your head." Gold tapped his temple.

"Really? I had no idea." Chuck gritted his teeth together with sarcasm. Gold struck him in the face with the butt of his gun, causing more pain.

"This isn't the time to screw around, Bartowski." He spat. "We're going to conduct a little experiment."

"What kind of experiment?" Chuck started to panic. Gold snapped, signaling two men to enter the room. They were each holding a small device which looked much like a PSP.

"We're going to see how much we can extract from that head of yours." Gold sneered.

"Hello, Chuck." A vaguely familiar voice said in front of him. He looked up to see a petite brown haired woman standing in front of him now.

"Do I know you?" She looked too familiar, but he couldn't place her face.

"Oh yes, we met at the park." She smiled. It was Taylor.

"I knew you were evil!"

"Oh honey, I'm worse than evil." She smirked and stuck a shot in his neck. "Say goodnight." Chuck slowly drifted into a world of darkness.

* * *

**August 2015**

"_You're going to leave, aren't you?" Chuck and Sarah were both laying on their backs, their bed more uncomfortable than ever._

"_I don't know." Sarah had been acting especially different lately, hardly trying to make the marriage work._

"_You'll tell me when you're sure?"_

"_Of course."_

"_I'm sorry that I couldn't help you, Sarah. I tried." Chuck trailed, a loss of words entering his mind._

"_You have nothing to be sorry for," Sarah turned on her side to look at her husband, "I'm the one who needs to apologize. I'm sorry that I can't be her, I can't be the Sarah you knew."_

"_How many times do I have to tell you that you _are_ her? You didn't get there over night. It took us a long time to get to where we were." Chuck turned on his side as well, facing her._

"_I just can't do this anymore, I'm not this person. I want to be, but the problem is that I'm just not built this way. I need to go on missions and save the world. I can't be stuck at home changing diapers and fighting with my husband."_

"_I love you so much."_

"_But I don't know if I love you." The words escaped Sarah's mouth as more of a whisper. She was going to tell him gently, at a time better than this, but couldn't stand to put up a façade any longer._

"_I know." Chuck looked down at the pillow underneath his head._

"_You do?"_

"_Sarah, I know what your love looks like, and I haven't seen it since before Quinn took your memories. I just thought that maybe with time, you'd eventually feel the same. I'm not going to force you to feel something you clearly don't."_

"_So what are you saying?"_

"_That I think you should go. Emma wasn't planned, and this isn't who you are."_

"_I still want to be in her life."_

"_I know that, too."_

"_I've never met anyone who understands me as much as you do. I think you're always going to be the one person in the world I trust."_

"_That really means a lot." Chuck smiled softly._

"_A part of me may actually miss these late night talks." Sarah chuckled._

"_All of me will."_

"_I know that I just said I didn't love you, but I really need to do something."_

"_Okay?"_

"_Close your eyes." Sarah leaned forward once his eyes shut, and planted her lips onto his. She pressed her body into his, allowing his arms to wrap around her. She wanted to give him this. She wanted to give him his wife, the one woman he loved. She cared about him enough to give him the old Sarah for a night, she cared about him enough to help him let go._

* * *

**Present Day 2019**

"Careful, Emma." Sarah warned as her daughter rushed into Chuck's house.

"I'm fine!" The child demanded. Sarah walked into her old home, carrying presents, flowers, and balloons that had been brought to the hospital for Emma.

"Lemme help you with that." Morgan took five teddy bears from her.

"Thanks, Morgan." She smiled tiredly at him. Casey trailed in behind, making sure nobody had followed them.

"I'll check the rest of the house." He grunted. Walking upstairs, he checked every inch, starting with Emma's room. Sarah looked around the downstairs area, stopping to look at pictures around the living room. She laughed at the family portrait sitting on the fireplace mantle. That was their first year as a family, and Emma was the hardest child to get to sit still long enough to pose for a picture.

"He still loves you." Morgan said from behind her.

"I know." She glanced at the wedding photo Chuck still kept up. Hers was in her room at the apartment.

"Then why don't you dump that loser already, and get back together with a man that actually loves you?" Morgan persisted.

"You know why, Morgan. We have to finish what we started." She said while turning to face the bearded man.

"We've had your back since day one because that's what a team does, but all of this has been killing Chuck. I mean, he knows it's fake but did you really expect him to want to go through with it?" He shook his head.

"No, but he did anyway. Coming on this mission was his choice, not mine. Get off my back, Morgan!" Sarah's anger unleashed itself against the bearded man in front of her. "Do you think I enjoy not having a real life? Do you think it's fun knowing that Chuck has all of these great moments in his head, and I have nothing? I don't remember my husband, I don't remember five years of my life, I don't remember becoming a better person. Drop it, because it's never going to change."

"Fine, sorry." He coughed softly, trying to avoid the blonde's killer gaze.

"Morgan…" Sarah started to apologize, but Morgan walked off before she could get any words out.

* * *

"Welcome back Charles." Gold said as Chuck slowly opened his eyes. "It's going to take us longer than we thought to get those secrets out of your head."

"Please, let me go." Chuck mumbled.

"No can do, Chuck." A familiar voice said.

"Derek?" Chuck had been waiting for this moment since the day he met the super agent.

"The one and only!" He laughed.

"I don't...understand..." Chuck was groggy, but he knew how to play stupid.

"You like my wife's work?" Derek asked as Taylor walked up to him and gave him a very passionate kiss. Chuck's face was genuinely surprised. "Oh yes, I forgot to mention I was married didn't I?" His laugh was evil.

"They're going to find you." Chuck said.

"They? Oh your team? No, they won't." He got in Chuck's face. "And tell me something Chuck, was it that easy for you to get in bed with your wife before you really knew her? Because it sure was for me." He smirked. Chuck spit in his face.

"You're going down." He glared. This man had the balls to talk about Sarah that way? But on some level, he wondered if it was true. How far did she have to go in order to keep up the act? Derek wiped his face and knocked Chuck out cold.

"Put him out again, we are going to figure out how to extract the intersect." Derek said to Gold. He walked out of the room, holding his wife's hand.

* * *

The day had gone by fast, but everything was fine. Emma had made a miraculous recovery, nobody had bugged the house, and Sarah got to be in her favorite place. She was laying on her back on the couch, with Emma lying face down on her stomach. They were listening to the record that was playing in the corner, Sarah's favorite song comforting them both. Chuck had been the one to show her this song, only a few days after she had kissed him on the beach. He said that some studies proved music to be a strong communicator of emotions, but even the sounds of Nina Simone didn't work.

"Where's daddy?" Emma asked as Sarah stroked her hair.

"He's with friends." Sarah had to lie to protect her daughter.

"When is he coming home?"

"I don't know, but he'll call when he does."

"Are you coming home?"

"What do you mean, I'm right here."

"I mean to live with us. Daddy misses you and so do I." The five year old sounded sophisticated.

"He does?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, he dreams about you coming home." Emma smiled.

"And how do you know that?" Sarah was curious.

"He told me. He told me that he was going to get you back home. He said we would all live together again someday." Emma nestled into her mother's shoulder. "I want you to come home and be with me and daddy." She whispered. This broke Sarah's heart. She wanted to be the woman who had wanted a family, Chuck, and quit the spy life. She wanted to be the woman who would drop everything to settle down and retire. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't be that person. However, she needed to find Chuck. She knew that she had to bring her daughter's father back home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Present Day 2019**

Sarah had a bad feeling. She woke up with it, and as she was sitting there holding her daughter, she still felt it. She knew that something bad was about to happen, she just didn't know what. Emma stirred beneath her grasp, and Sarah stayed completely still hoping that she wouldn't wake up. It was only 8:00am, and Sarah wanted at least another hour of peace before the monster was awakened. However, her little monster didn't listen to her thoughts.

"I'm hungry." Emma grumbled. They had fallen asleep on the couch the night before, after having a long talk about Sarah coming home.

"Well that's a problem isn't it?" Sarah laughed. Emma crawled off her lap, and sleepily walked into the kitchen. Sarah rubbed her eyes, got up, and followed. The kitchen was decent sized, with an island in the middle and counters around it. A small window was located above the sink, which gave a great view of the back yard. Emma got up onto one of the counters without Sarah noticing, grabbing a glass bowl from the top shelf, and dropping it onto the floor with a crash.

"Emma! Are you trying to kill yourself?" Sarah exclaimed at the sound of the shattering bowl.

"Sorry mommy." Emma sulked.

"Just stay there okay? Wait until I get back, I don't want you to cut yourself on the glass." Sarah went right outside the kitchen to grab a broom. When she returned, her daughter was sitting on the counter, waiting patiently for her. Emma didn't take after either Sarah or Chuck in that aspect. Sarah helped Emma down, making sure she was safe from any glass shards.

"I really am sorry." Emma hung her head.

"Hey, it's okay," Sarah knelt down to Emma's level, "We all make mistakes." She smiled at her daughter as she took her tiny hands in her own. Emma smiled at her mother, and Sarah couldn't help but notice the mini Sarah Chuck Bartowski smile, shocking her back into reality. She needed to find Chuck; she had a job to do. "How would you feel about spending the day with Aunt Ellie and Uncle Devon?" Sarah asked. Emma scrunched up her face.

"Clara's mean. She never lets me be the princess, I'm always the slave." Emma said, referring to her older cousin. Sarah stood up and rested her hand on top of her daughters head.

"Well, maybe you should do something about that."

"But she's bigger than me." Emma whined.

"She may be bigger and older, but you're smarter." Sarah said with confidence.

"Yeah, you're right mom. I'm gonna stick up for myself!" Emma puffed out her chest and stormed up to her room. Sarah dialed Morgan and Casey, asking them back to start on their rescue plan.

* * *

"Ugh." Chuck hated this part of the experiments. Waking up and feeling like he had a hangover every single day wasn't exactly a dream come true.

"Hello again, Mr. Bartowski." Derek's wife Taylor was a horrible sight to be seen.

"Hello, evil mistress." Chuck got a slap across the face for his reply.

"Careful honey, you don't want to kill him just yet." Derek stepped into the visible space of the cemented room.

"Fine." Taylor pouted.

"I'm going to Sarah today." Derek smiled and turned to Chuck.

"Don't you dare hurt her." Chuck spat.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He replied to Chuck sarcastically.

"Why do you still even need me?" Chuck asked.

"Because, it looks like we're going to try a little harder to extract your secrets. And we finally know how."

"And how's that?"

"We have to kill you in order for your brain to release all thoughts. Prepare to say goodbye." Derek kept smiling as he left the room. Chuck stared ahead, not knowing how to handle himself. The team needed to hurry, or their master plan would fail.

* * *

"Look Casey, there has to be some way to find him. We knew that this would happen, we knew they'd find his tracker. So how do we figure out where they have him?" Sarah argued while standing in front of Casey and Morgan inside the new castle.

"Your boyfriend will tell us that." Casey grunted.

"He's not my boyfriend." Sarah snapped. "He hasn't been here for the past two days, how does Beckman know that he'll lead us there?"

"Where is Prince Charming by the way?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, we didn't expect him to be absent this long." Morgan added.

"I have no clue." Sarah started to wonder where he was, when the door opened and the devil himself walked inside.

"Sorry I'm late guys." Derek apologized as he walked in.

"Where've you been?" She asked him.

"Nowhere. I just took a few days off."

"We can't afford a few days off! We need to find Chuck." She demanded.

"We all get that you need to find your precious Chuck." Derek snapped at her.

"Uh oh..." Morgan said under his breath as Sarah's soul-striking eyes darted at her boyfriend.

"Look Derek, you obviously have issues with him, but I really don't care. You said that you would help me, and as my partner I expect you to keep your word." She said through clenched teeth.

"What about as your boyfriend?" He asked. Sarah had no answer to this question.

"We don't have time for a lover's quarrel right now." Casey muttered. "Worry about it later."

"Casey is right. Let's just find Chuck, and then we can come back and you guys can yell at each other or whatever it is you do. Unless you shoot each other, because I won't let you do that." Morgan tried lightening the mood.

* * *

The henchmen had moved Chuck to a different room, one that had more light and chairs. They refrained from tying him up, but he still had a hard time seeing as his beat-up face hadn't healed. He was slowly losing hope in Sarah, knowing that she wouldn't be looking as hard as she used to. Sure he was the father of her child, but did she really need to find him?

"Rise and shine, princess." Chuck heard Taylor's voice in front of his.

"I don't have the intersect."

"As you've tried telling us. But the charade is over, Bartowski."

"If you hurt Sarah, I will haunt you for the rest of your life."

"You really are pathetic, you know? That woman got over you and ended up in bed with my husband so fast, that _I_ didn't even have time to blink. Why do you care so deeply for someone who doesn't even notice you?"

"Because I notice her. Your so called husband doesn't look at you the way I look at Sarah, so maybe you should check on your own marriage before picking apart mine." Chuck spat, receiving a slap for his words.

"My husband and I are going to take over the world together, which more than I can say for you. Even if your ex wife does come for you, do you really think she'll stick around? My guess is that she'll be on her next mission before you can even thank her for trying to come get you."

"Maybe she will, but at least she wouldn't be pretending to love me."

"Boss, they're here." Chuck heard another voice in the room.

"Good, Derek has brought them here." She placed her face a few centimeters from Chuck's, "Do you think she'll even notice when we kill you?"

"You won't kill me."

"And why is that?"

"Because she'll make sure that none of you live if I don't. The one thing about Sarah is that she's _very_ protective of me, even if she doesn't have feelings for me. Let's just call it a reflex." Chuck replied smugly.

"We'll see about that."

* * *

"Are you sure you traced his location here?" Sarah looked at Derek.

"I swear. Not much of a holding spot if you ask me." Derek played along.

"Alright, let's go get Chuck." Sarah started to exit the van when a meaty arm reached out to stop her.

"We need a plan, Walker." Casey grunted.

"The plan is to go in there and get him." She demanded.

"We need a better plan."

"Fine, what do you suggest?"

"Something they won't see coming." Casey smirked.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay, so I just went back and made the story more believable. I will still get to explaining everything in the upcoming chapter, so don't worry about that. If you guys have any more questions or concerns, don't hesitate to tell me! I never read comments as rude or harsh unless you swear at me and tell me that my story sucks as a whole. I love taking ideas and constructive criticism, so keep it coming! Enjoy the new and improved story.**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

**September 2014**

"_Where are we going?" Sarah hated surprises. Chuck was leading her into a different room of the house, his hands covering her eyes._

"_Just trust me and relax." He laughed at her, causing a smile to blossom across her face. Chuck had created a surprise room for her, one which could only be found if a certain shelf was moved. He thought she would enjoy the secrecy of a "spy-room"._

"_Are we almost there?" She asked._

"_Yeah, okay, open." He removed his hands, and Sarah's eyes opened gently. She scanned the room but found nothing different about it._

"_It's a room." She stated._

"_Well yeah, but I put something in it for you." Chuck smiled at his wife. He walked over to the bookshelf in the left corner of the room, and clicked something on the side. Sarah's eyes widened as the shelf automatically moved, and a small room appeared. "Well?" Chuck asked, following Sarah into the room._

"_When did you do this?" She asked._

"_Little by little over the past few weeks. I figured you could use the stress reliever with Emma and all."_

"_Chuck, this is great." She gazed happily around the room, scanning the plastic dummy targets on the left, and the armory wall to the right. "Thank you." She stared straight into his eyes as she said this, and Chuck caught a glimpse of _his_ Sarah, the woman he used to know._

"_Yeah, no problem." He smiled, and they both looked back at the main room as they heard a baby cry. Sarah started to move out of the secret space, but Chuck spoke before she could exit, "You should stay and try all of this out, I've got her."_

"_Okay." Sarah smiled quickly and turned her back to Chuck, checking out everything he had provided. Chuck looked back before leaving completely, hoping that his wife would truly make her way back to him one day._

* * *

**Present Day 2019**

The team had only taken about a half hour to plan their raid, making sure to be as careful and quiet as possible.

"Hey, I don't want there to be any weird tension here." Sarah caught up to Derek before entering the compound.

"There's no tension." Derek said unconvincingly.

"He's the father of my child, Derek. Am I supposed to just sit back and let him die?"

"You didn't seem to care about him this much when you came back to the agency." He retorted.

"Not fair."

"Not fair? Sarah, you have a _family_."

"So now you're mad at me for not caring enough? Make up your mind."

"No, you make up your mind, Sarah. I'm tired of waiting for your final decision." With that, he went around the left side of the building as planned.

"Walker, what's happening?" Casey's voice grunted in her ear.

"Nothing, we're going in." She responded. It didn't take very long for Sarah and Derek to each take a side of the building. She had three guards to handle, while Derek's side ended up clean. She stood there for a brief moment, wondering why he cared so much. Had he actually fallen in love with her? She hadn't felt it before now, but he seemed too upset at her for her feelings towards Chuck. She shook it off, entering the building with caution.

"There's nothing on the top floor, mostly just guards sitting around." Derek's voice erupted into her ear piece.

"Nobody is entering either." Casey contributed.

"What about you, Morgan?" Sarah asked.

"All clear around back." He said.

"There's a room with heavy guard down the hall, I'm going to check it out." She whispered. As soon as the guards spotted her, they started firing. Sarah dodged every bullet with ease, letting the world melt away and focusing on getting Chuck back safely. She took the first two out with a simple snap of the neck. The next two were a bit harder, she actually had to pull a roundhouse kick on one. The last one obviously had some martial arts training, but Sarah was the superior fighter. She picked the key card off the last guard and swiped it in the slot next to the door. The door opened quickly, but Sarah entered slowly.

"Sarah?" Chuck's voice was rough and tired.

"Chuck!" Sarah rushed over to the chair in the middle of the room, untying him swiftly.

"Derek…"

"He's here."

"Good." Chuck managed to get out.

"God, I didn't expect them to beat you this badly." She touched his face gently.

"Did Casey get him?"

"I'm not sure, my job is to get you home safe."

"Sarah," Chuck grabbed her wrist as she helped him stand, "We _have _to get him, or this was all for nothing."

"We got him Chuck, now let me get you out of here."

* * *

**_August 2015_**

_Sarah pulled up to the driveway with the lights off, careful not to wake Chuck or Emma, as both were a nightmare to get back to sleep. She entered the house just as quietly, sneaking up the stairs with her shoes in her hand._

_"Where did you go?" Chuck mumbled as she slid into bed._

_"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." She said apologetically._

_"I never went to sleep." He smiled softly and turned toward her._

_"I just went for a drive. Do you remember last week when you asked me if I was leaving?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_ "Beckman has a mission for me, but I'm not sure I want to take it." She confessed._

_"What is it?" Chuck asked. Sarah didn't exactly want to tell him that it was a seduction mission, as their marriage wasn't strong at that point._

_"I have to be partnered with a double agent."_

_"Sounds like your cup of tea." He laughed, referring to Bryce. Sarah laughed at this as well, as she fully remembered the rumors about her old partner._

_"I kinda have to be with him though." She added quickly._

_"Be with him?"_

_"It's a seduction mission. Beckman needs information from him, and she thinks that if he trusts me enough then I can get it from him."_

_"Oh." Chuck got quiet._

_"I don't have to do it, Chuck."_

_"No, you should. You wanted a mission. Who knows, this could be really good for you."_

_"Are you serious?"_

_"Yeah actually. You've been doing what everyone else wants these past few years, and you deserve to do something for yourself. I know this version of you almost as well as my version. You don't want this life, Sarah. You need action and adventure." He smiled._

_"I-"_

_"You should take it."_

_"Promise me something?" She whispered, noticing him falling asleep._

_"Anything." He closed his eyes._

_"That you'll be my partner. I know you wanted to be done, but I need to do this with someone who will truly have my back."_

_"Of course," He said, "But I think we could use the help of a few others."_

* * *

"Did you lure them here?" Taylor met up with her husband in the control room.

"Of course, that's been the plan since day one." Derek smiled and kissed his wife.

"Looks like Walker is rescuing Bartowski."

"As always." Derek rolled his eyes.

"You'd save me right?" She asked worriedly.

"Yeah right, like you'd ever need saving." He laughed.

"I'm serious."

"Okay, fine. Sure I'd save you." Derek kept his focus on the security screens in front of them.

"What about your father? Did he get away safely?"

"Yeah, he's in his spot."

"Ugh, enough of this hopeless marriage banter." Morgan's voice sounded behind the two. Derek and Taylor whipped around, coming face-to-face with Casey and Morgan.

"Surprise." Casey smiled one of his rare "I-caught-you-and-now-you're-screwed" smiles.

"What? How?" The two criminals were dumbstruck.

"You really think we'd let you take one of our agents so easily?" Casey said.

"Yeah, douchebags!" Morgan chimed in.

"I think it's funny how much you're like your father." Casey added, looking at Derek.

"You said they'd never find out!" Taylor yelled, trying to escape as more agents appeared.

"Hope you enjoy the CIA containment cells!" Morgan shouted as the Johnson's were cuffed and taken away.

"Cool it, moron." Casey smacked Morgan upside the head and started to walk away.

"Wait, Casey! Does this mean we're partners again?" Morgan rushed after him. Chuck and Sarah had made it out of the building safely, as their team apprehended the enemy.

"That was a little too easy if you ask me." Chuck smiled weakly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, nothing a little Tylenol won't fix."

"I'm really sorry about all of this, Chuck. I just needed a distraction from…everything."

"I totally get it. Family life isn't what you want, Sarah."

"But I want it to be. There's no way that I would ever leave Emma. I just can't pretend to be in love with you. Who knows, maybe we'll find it again someday, but right now I think I should focus on being a mom above anything else." She confessed.

"I wish I could help you get to where you want to be." Chuck sighed.

"You are." Sarah smiled genuinely.

"Wow, it's been a while since I've seen that."

"Oh shut up." They laughed together for a brief moment, looking at each other as they used to.

"Friends?" Chuck held out his right hand.

"Always." Sarah shook it softly, careful not to hurt him.

"Chuck!" Morgan rushed over to his best friend.

"Take it easy buddy, I'm a little sore." Chuck laughed.

"Good to see you alive, Bartowski." Casey walked up behind Morgan.

"Man was that crazy or what?" Morgan widened his eyes.

"It's not over yet. I'm sure that Johnson will have something up his sleeve." Casey grumbled.

"Let's save that for tomorrow. Right now, I really just want to go home and hug my daughter." Chuck sighed tiredly.

"I agree, save the aftermath for tomorrow," Sarah said to Casey before turning to Chuck, "Let's go home and see our daughter."

* * *

**Another A/N: I'll put more about the whole Derek/Sarah thing in the next chapter, so don't think that I'm skipping over all of the backstory on Sarah's assignment. Thanks again!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Present Day 2019**

The next few days were filled with laughter-mostly from Emma-and peace. Chuck and Sarah hadn't talked much about where to go from their current situation, and they both were avoiding the awkward conversation.

"I can help you with those." Sarah entered the kitchen after clearing the table, offering to help Chuck with the dishes.

"Nah, I think I've got it. You can go if you want, everything here is good." He responded cheerfully.

"We should talk." Sarah blurted.

"About?"

"About everything. Emma, us, the team, what happened with Derek, just everything."

"Okay," Chuck dropped the plate he was holding into the soapy water and turned to Sarah, "I think Emma should stay with you for a while. She needs you in her life, and I think you need her too. As for us, there's not really much to say. I've already told you how I feel, and you still need time to figure out how you feel. The team will always be the team. I'm not re-joining the CIA, I only helped you because, well, it's you Sarah. And the whole thing with Derek can just stay between you and him. I know you had to do what you had to do, but I don't necessarily need to know the…details."

"What exactly do you think happened between me and Derek?" She asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well he said some things that were pretty interesting."

"Such as?"

"I don't know..." Chuck wasn't about to be the jealous over-sensitive ex.

"Spill it." She folded her arms and stood her ground.

"He said that it was really easy to get you into bed, which is how I got this." He pointed to the healing wound by his left eye.

"He said that to upset you." She replied without hesitation.

"So you didn't sleep with him?"

"No, I didn't. You really think that I'd do that? Especially with where we were? I was only his 'girlfriend' for six months. You and I were together for three years before we did anything." She defended herself.

"We were partners for three years, just like you and him. What's the difference? We weren't even dating."

"Chuck. You're really telling me that you don't know the difference between you and him? I was assigned to him."

"Yeah, just like you were assigned to me."

"It's not like that."

"No? tell me, what's the difference? What's so different about Derek the wonder spy and me, Chuck Bartowski?"

"I didn't love Derek."

"And you don't love me."

"I don't know how I feel about you, Chuck. We've already talked about that."

"I do."

"No, you don't. How could you possibly know what's going on in my head?"

"Because it's written all over your face! You don't know what it's like to love someone so much it hurts. Actually hurts. You don't know what it's like to go through so much with someone, only to have it all ripped away. I will never be the same, ever. And it's not your fault, I don't blame anyone except Quinn, but you don't love me Sarah. I know what your love looks and feels like, and this certainly isn't it."

"I know this hasn't been easy for you. But you're the one who told me to go on this mission in the first place."

"Yeah, because how much would you resent me for making you stay?"

"I wouldn't resent you."

"Oh really? Sarah, how many times do I have to tell you that I know you better than anyone? All of you. This you, my you, the you that helped her dad con people into giving up their money. You wouldn't have stayed for long, if I didn't let you go you would've left eventually."

"I don't know what to do. _You_ don't know how badly I want to be the woman who married you and who wanted a life away from the CIA, I just don't know how to get back to that point." She looked down.

"Stop fighting." The sleepy five-year-old stumbled into the kitchen.

"We're not fighting, I promise." Sarah picked up her daughter, hugging her close as she rested her head on her mother's shoulder.

"Sounds like it." Emma mumbled.

"You should be asleep anyway." Chuck responded.

"How about I sleep with you tonight? I'm a little too tired to drive home." Sarah said to the child.

"Yeah, a sleepover!" Emma perked up.

"If it's okay with daddy." Sarah looked to Chuck.

"Fine by me." He smiled softly.

"Goodnight, daddy." Emma waved as Sarah carried her out of the kitchen. Chuck couldn't help but remember how close Sarah had come to her old self back before Emma was born. It was the night she was conceived, both of them ignorant to what that night together would bring.

* * *

**September 2013**

"_You didn't have to come." Chuck laughed, opening the door to the house slower than usual._

"_And miss your birthday? I don't think so." Sarah responded with a laugh. The two were both somewhat intoxicated, post-party appropriate. Chuck hadn't ever seen his wife drunk, even to this little an extent._

"_Well thank you for coming."_

"_You're welcome." The two headed up the stairs immediately, tired from the night of karaoke and shots. Morgan was the party planner this year, which meant a crazy night and a plan to get Sarah back to her old self. He thought that maybe a drunken haze would somehow relinquish some memories, but had no success. Chuck had tried talking him out of it, but of course failed._

"_Morgan seems to think that another year of life has given me ample knowledge to conquer the world."_

"_I'm sure it has," Sarah jumped onto the bed, extending her arms on either side, "Has this ceiling always been white?"_

"_What?" Chuck stopped taking his shirt off and looked at her._

"_I thought it was more of a cream color." She patted the space next to her, and he joined the speculation._

"_No, it's always been white." He laughed, looking at the ceiling with her._

"_Maybe you're right."_

"_I am right."_

"_Oh shut up, I'm drunk." She turned her head to look at him, inching closer as she did so._

"_Which is exactly why I think the guest room is the perfect place for me." He interrupted her thoughts and hopped of the bed. Sarah sat up, frowning._

"_But I haven't given you your present yet."_

"_I don't need presents." He laughed._

"_You may not need them, but you'll like this one." She smiled._

"_You're drunk." He stated._

"_Yes, I just told you that."_

"_Sarah…"_

"_Chuck." She grabbed his hands, pulling him to the edge of the bed. "Can't we just forget about everything for one night and be right here. Only here, only now, can't we just be together?" She looked up at him with the same look she used to give him. He wanted to say no, he wanted to wait until she really meant it, but here she was, his wife, looking at him the way she used to. He leaned over and kissed her softly, trying hard not to break her moment of intimacy. He felt her kiss back, and couldn't help but let a diminutive moan leave his mouth. She pulled him on top of herself, running her hands through his hair and along his neck._

"_Wait, Sarah." He stopped abruptly, realizing how weak he was to her unbelievably strong charm. "I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't do this." He got off the bed in a flash, making his way to the guest room down the hall. Sarah lay there, pondering what had just happened. Chuck had been through so much with her, and she had only wanted to give him a night to forget about their past. She closed her eyes, letting sleep wash over her, and before she knew it she was out cold. Chuck didn't have as easy of a time sleeping. He couldn't force his eyes closed, as they were as open as ever. He had come so close to sharing a moment with Sarah, and he ruined it. There was no way he'd get another chance to share something so personal with her. He stayed laying on his back for a few hours, not moving and only thinking of where to go from this point in time, when the door opened slowly._

"_Are you awake?" Sarah whispered through the crack in the door._

"_No." He replied softly._

"_I'm sorry." She made her way over to the bed, lying next to him._

"_Don't be, we all make mistakes." He joked._

"_It wasn't a mistake for me." Chuck looked at her._

"_It wasn't?" He asked._

"_No. I've never been looked at the way you look at me. I've never been cared for the way you care for me. I've never felt as safe as when I'm here in this bed with you. Maybe our problem is that I haven't been trying to love you."_

"_You shouldn't have to try, Sarah."_

"_Then just let it happen. Stop fighting it." With that, she kissed him. She put every feeling into the kiss, not holding back for anything. Every touch, every kiss, every moment that passed had become so intensely heightened that night. Chuck made sure to remember the way her soft silk-like skin felt, how the tiny crinkles in her lips fit with his, the way their bodies moved together. He let himself melt into the moment, not wanting to let go._

* * *

**Present Day 2019**

Chuck awoke from his dream sharply, sweating and not wanting to wake up. He sighed and rolled out of bed slowly. Rubbing his face, he stumbled into Emma's room forgetting about the older blonde version of his daughter that had spent the night. He noticed Sarah right away, her peaceful sleeping figure rising and falling with every breath. He used to watch her sleep, always noticing the lack of tension and stress in her face when she was in a deep slumber. Before realizing how close he had gotten to the bed, Sarah stirred.

"Uh, sorry, I forgot you were here." He stammered.

"It's fine." She whispered with a smile. "I should probably get going though, Beckman will want to do a follow up. Especially because I've been avoiding her calls the past few days." She sat up, careful not to wake Emma.

"Yeah, you're probably right." He smiled back.

"Sorry if I put you on the spot last night. You didn't have to let me stay but I didn't really give you much of a choice."

"Nah, its fine. She misses you." He looked to Emma.

"You still think it's a good idea for me to take her for a while?"

"Why not? It'll be good for you both." The two adults exited the room.

"I guess I'll come pick her up later. I'll let you know when I'm done with my meeting."

"Of course." He walked her to the front door.

"I honestly don't know how I feel or what I want, and I know it's frustrating."

"Really, Sarah, it's okay."

"At least we know we got one thing right." Sarah's eyes drifted to the top of the stairs.

"Emma really is the best thing we've ever done."

"I agree." They both smiled together for a moment, before Sarah walked out the front door and to her car. Chuck was starting to lose hope, and he was losing it fast. It didn't take Sarah very long to go home, change, and then make her way to the base. She wanted to spend as much time with Emma as possible, and she certainly wanted to get this meeting with Beckman over with.

"How are you doing, Walker?"

"Fine General, thank you." Sarah stared into the large screen in front of her.

"We need to talk about Agent Johnson."

"I figured. Is he not talking?"

"Oh, we got him to talk." Beckman responded with a smirk. "This is more about what he had to say."

"Which was?"

"He and his father were trying to extract the intersect from Chuck's head."

"What's new? Everyone is always after the intersect."

"Yes, but they were working on a device to cure the dullest of memories."

"Memories?"

"Johnson's mother was in an unfortunate accident a few years back, and her brain turned to nothing. She's been in a psych ward since the accident, and I think they were working on a cure for her."

"General, are you telling me that Derek and Gold can help me get my memories back?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey all! I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update. When I get stuck on stories, I take my time to figure out where to go next. Some days I have the writing fever, and other days I just can't seem to get a word out! I went back and updated a timeline to my other chapters, because it was getting a bit confusing even for me. I hope you enjoy, and as always, thanks for reading!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

**Present Day 2019**

Chuck had been worried about his ex-wife, as she headed back to Castle for a meeting with Beckman. Sarah hadn't wanted to be attached to the spy game again in the first place, and with all these secret meeting with Beckman, he was sure she'd get sucked back in for good. He waited patiently at her home, where he was watching Emma while she had the brief meeting with Beckman. His intuition had been right, as she pulled up to her house with a major screech and barged in, eyes blazing with speed.

"Everything okay?" He asked, watching her run upstairs, and then following.

"Fine." Was all she managed to get out before throwing open a suitcase that she found in a closet.

"Everything doesn't look fine, it looks like you're leaving."

"I am leaving."

"What? Why?"

"Beckman has another mission for me, and I'm taking it."

"I thought you were done after this last one?"

"This one will fix everything, Chuck. I'm doing this for more people than just myself."

"How?"

"Gold is Derek's father, which explains a lot. They have been trying to save Derek's mom, who has some sort of highly developed stage of dementia. Beckman told me that they're trying to create an intersect to bring her memories back, which is why they wanted to extract it from you." Sarah took a second to look at Chuck while she spoke.

"So you're saying that Gold can help you?"

"Yes."

"But do you really think he will? Willingly?"

"I didn't say that I wasn't going to fight for it."

"Sarah, you just got back home. I think you should stay with Emma for a while."

"Did you not hear what I said? I can fix everything." Sarah raced around her bedroom, packing anything she could think of.

"Are you listening to yourself? Sarah, you can't just go search a very dangerous fugitive because you think that he _may_ have the means to get you your memories."

"Do you not want me back?" Sarah stopped packing and stared her partner straight in the eyes.

"I didn't say that."

"Then why try to stop me from going?"

"Because you could get lost in this mission, Sarah."

"Oh please, I'm a highly trained spy, Chuck. I'll come back."

"I don't mean physically. This mission is going to become your life and you'll do anything to complete it. You're going to lose yourself along the way, and I can't live with that."

"I'm sorry, but this isn't your decision."

"But it is my decision, Sarah!" Chuck's reply came as a harsh yell, causing Sarah to stop in her tracks and stare at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean..."

"No tell me, what did you mean?"

"This isn't just your life. It's ours. I know that you don't love me, and I know you don't remember what we had, but we have a kid sleeping in the other room. What about her?"

"Everything I do is for her, Chuck. You don't think I want a family? I need to figure out who I really am, and I just can't do that without my memories. If Derek and his ass of a father can help me retrieve my memories, I'm going to do it. I can't sit back any longer and watch my life fade." Sarah's head dropped.

"Then please let me help you. We started this together, and that's exactly how we need to end it." Chuck's eyes flashed with determination, and Sarah couldn't help but find it attractive.

"Chuck, this could be seriously dangerous."

"As opposed to fake danger?" He replied with a hint of a smile. Sarah flashed across a moment of Deja Vu before smiling back.

"Emma needs you."

"We'll both be back."

"How do you know that?"

"A really great spy once told me that we always bounce back, Sarah, and that's exactly what we're going to do. We're going to get you back."

"And if it doesn't work?" Sarah asked softly.

"It will." Chuck replied.

* * *

**_January 27, 2012_**

_Nothing looked familiar to Sarah as the man who claimed to be her husband led her into the home that was supposedly hers. She had listened to herself talk about Chuck and how she felt when Casey handed her the old video logs, but she didn't feel a single thing towards the man. Was he nice? Sure. Did he genuinely care about her? Yes. But the thing was; she had no recollection of anything that happened over the past five years._

_"So, uh, I'll give you the room. Maybe sleeping in your own bed will help jog your memories." Chuck interrupted her thoughts with the gentle tone of his voice._

_"But that's your bed, I can just as easily take the couch." She replied._

_"It's no problem, really." He said. She forced a smile in his direction. The two had just shared a special moment on the beach, only to have it end with no change in Sarah's memory loss. Chuck knew it was a long shot, Morgan's theories weren't ever usually correct, but he had hoped with all his heart that his bearded friend was right._

_"No, really. Please take the room, I would feel guilty all night and not get much sleep anyway." He scratched the back of his head nervously._

_"Hey, Chuck?" Sarah started, turning around before leaving the room._

_"Yeah?"_

_"I'm sorry the kiss didn't work."_

_"Don't worry about it. Long shot anyway, right?" Neither of them really slept that night, as they both had a lot on their minds. Sarah was momentarily done with the CIA, Chuck couldn't seem to get his wife back, and they both had no idea where to go next. Being in the same home together wasn't exactly either, as everything seemed awkward with both. Chuck made sure to wake up extra early the next morning though, surprising Sarah with breakfast._

_"Waffles?" Sarah entered the kitchen with a stretch._

_"I figured that you've always liked them, and it's not just a recent thing."_

_"Well now you can say that you know at least one thing about me." She chuckled._

_"You can stay here as long as you want. I know it may not feel like it, but this is your place too."_

_"Thanks. I may take you up on that."_

_"Are you gonna go back to the agency any time soon?"_

_"I thought about it, but I really need some time to myself. I can't really figure anything out until I figure out who I am now."_

_"You're still the same person, Sarah. You just view some things a little differently."_

_"And I cut my hair."_

_"Yeah, you did that last year. You woke up one day and wanted to cut it, never really told me why."_

_"I miss my long hair." She frowned, pulling a few strands towards her face to take a closer look at the length._

_"I think you look amazing either way." Chuck smiled, but quickly turned red after the compliment. Sarah smiled back awkwardly, not knowing what to say._

_"Chuck! Buddy! Are you home?" Morgan's voice erupted from the front door._

_"Morgan?" Chuck peered around the corner of the kitchen area to see his best friend smiling wide._

_"Did it work? Did you get that kiss?" Morgan playfully slapped Chuck's shoulder._

_"Morgan." Chuck warned through clenched teeth._

_"Hi again, Morgan." Sarah said from behind Chuck, finding the moment awkward and amusing at the same time._

_"Oh, Sarah, hey..." Morgan trailed._

_"I have some things I have to go do today." Sarah mumbled to the two._

_"Sure, yeah, I'll have my cell if you need anything." Chuck responded. With that, Sarah grabbed a few waffles to go, an entered the bedroom to change. Chuck turned to Morgan with somewhat of a glare, "Really? You couldn't have looked to see if anyone else was here?"_

_"Are those waffles? Nice!"_

* * *

**Present Day 2019**

"So what exactly are you planning to do?" Chuck and Sarah just dropped Emma off with Ellie and Devon, and were now waiting for Derek to enter the interrogation room of Castle.

"I don't know."

"He's not going to talk."

"Chuck, maybe you should just wait outside." Sarah looked up at him.

"Yeah, maybe that's a good idea." Chuck gave a quick little laugh and exited the room, just as Derek was led inside.

"I should've guessed it was you." Derek sneered in Sarah's direction.

"Take a seat, Johnson, I insist." She glared back.

"Let me guess, you've figured out my father's reasoning for coming after your precious Chuck." He took a seat on the hard metal chair in front of him.

"Maybe I have, and maybe I haven't. But you are going to tell me where your father is hiding."

"You're cute when you're mad." Derek smiled.

"I'm done playing your games. Tell me where he is."

"Full immunity." He stated.

"There's no way in hell."

"Well then, I guess you're on your own." He leaned back casually. He wasn't breaking a sweat whatsoever.

"I can get you two years."

"No dice."

"Look, I don't know who I am. Five years of my life are completely gone, and I'm sure you don't care, but it's important that I get them back."

"Even if you find him, he's not going to help you."

"What if I give you the intersect willingly?" Chuck opened the door to the room.

"Chuck, you're not giving them anything." Sarah snapped.

"What if I promise you that your mom will be back to normal by the two years you get out?" Chuck ignored Sarah's comment.

"Then I'd probably say that my father is hiding out in the Bahama's at his favorite resort under the name Jackson Carroll." Derek replied with ease.

"I'll help her, I swear." Chuck said.

"If you don't, I swear that I will hunt you and your family until every last Bartowski is dead."

"Chuck, let's go." Sarah grabbed his arm, leading him out of the room. "What were you thinking?" She demanded.

"Sarah, I told you that I would help you. If it were me in that situation, I would do anything to get you back. Sometimes we have to help the villains to get what we want."

"I don't even think I can get him two years."

"Yes you can, you're you. But for now, let's go to the Bahama's and get your memories back."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello fellow Chucksters! There aren't too many of you following this story, but I thank those of you who are. It's one that I've had in my brain since Chuck ended three years ago, and re-writing it was a great idea. There's just some things that change when you grow up, and becoming an adult has turned my writing abilities into a great strength! Anyway, keep commenting and as always, enjoy!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

**_October 2013_**

_Sarah hadn't quite been feeling the same after her night with Chuck. The morning after had been more than awkward, and neither of them knew what do. Almost a month had passed, and they still hadn't talked about what had happened. It's not like they pretended it never happened, but they weren't quite sure how to start conversation on the subject. Its not that she felt ashamed of what they had done, but she wasn't exactly sure whether or not she wanted to do it again. She had started feeling things that weren't there before, and it scared her. _

_"You okay in there?" Chuck knocked on the door to her bathroom. She had left the water running, as she leaned over the sink, feeling the cool porcelain under her palms._

_"Yeah, I'm fine." Sarah replied._

_"Just making sure." Chuck sounded concerned, so Sarah shut off the water and opened the door._

_"You don't always have to check up on me, you know." Sarah gave him a half-smile._

_"I know, but old habits die hard." He smiled back._

_"Are you going into the store today?" She asked, noticing his Buy More attire._

_"Yeah, Morgan needs help with the overflow of inventory so I'll be there for a while." He rubbed the back of his head._

_"A new shipment already? I thought they came in on the second week of the month?"_

_"They do." He gave her a weird look before continuing, "It's the twelfth today." _

_"The twelfth? Are you sure?" Sarah rushed over to her phone, checking the date on her home screen._

_"Positive...what's wrong?"_

_"Nothing. I just have a few errands to run." Sarah said uneasily, pulling on her favorite boots and grabbing her brown leather jacket out of the closet._

_"Okay, well I should be back later tonight. Let me know if you need anything."_

_"Sure!" Sarah said loudly as she rushed down the stairs and out to her car. She tried her hardest not to speed to the nearest Walmart, but ended up doing so anyway. Her period was never late or early, even in the most stressful of situations. She was three days late today, and she'd been so caught up in her relationship with Chuck tat she hadn't even noticed. She was sure they had been careful on his birthday, but then again, they had been drunk. She raced up and down the aisles until she found the pregnancy tests in plain sight. She stared at each one, and found them staring back at her._

_"Sarah?" The familiar voice of Ellie Bartowski interrupted her moment of fear._

_"Ellie?" Her head snapped to the brunette. Sarah noticed little Clara, sitting in the front of the cart._

_"Shopping?"_

_"Uh, yeah, we needed more vitamins but I couldn't find them." She lied. She couldn't stop looking at the baby at this point, afraid of her own assumptions of pregnancy._

_"I think they're a few aisles over." Ellie smiled calmly._

_"Me too. All I see here are pregnancy tests." Sarah let out a nervous burst of laughter, finally making eye contact with Ellie. "Definitely don't need one of those." _

_"Right. Well, enjoy your vitamins." Ellie gave her a weird look, and walked further down the aisle. Sarah let out a deep sigh of relief, grabbed a test quickly, and practically sprinted to the nearest check out._

* * *

**Present Day 2019**

The flight to the Bahamas was a silent one. Nobody spoke to each other, all of them focusing on the mission at hand. Not even Morgan had a quippy ice breaker to empty the awkward silence in the air. Once they hit the ground, they headed straight for the resort where Gold was staying.

"This is a pretty cozy rental car, isn't it?" Morgan said.

"Stuff it, moron." Casey grunted.

"Do we have a plan for when we get to the Atlantis?" Sarah brought up a new subject.

"We'll have to case the resort tonight, and then figure out what the plan is for tomorrow." Chuck sighed.

"Sounds good. I could use some sleep." Sarah tried to sound positive. It took about an hour for the team to get to the resort from the airport. The ride was mostly silent, Morgan trying to make small talk along the way. When they got there, Morgan realized he had ordered two rooms instead of one.

"Sorry guys, I thought I asked for one."

"It's alright, buddy. You and I can share, Sarah and Casey can take the other one." Chuck patted Morgan's shoulder.

"Are you sure about that?" Morgan asked as he and Chuck walked towards their room.

"Yeah?" Chuck responded in confusion.

"I mean, it's just that this place could be really romantic if you let it." Morgan started. Chuck realized where his mind was headed.

"Morgan, I can't. Sarah doesn't need me fawning after her, okay? Honestly I think she prefers to stay with Casey."

"Really? I think I'm the only one who would ever prefer that."

"The fact that you're serious about that worries me." Chuck laughed.

"You guys will be in 415, we've got 416." Casey came up to the bromantic duo with key cards.

"Let's get settled then." Chuck nodded with leadership, and lead the group to the elevator that would take them to their rooms.

"See you bright and early." Casey grunted, going into his room. Morgan followed.

"I'm starting to think that Morgan is Casey's shadow." Sarah laughed.

"Starting to?" Chuck laughed with her.

"I could've stayed with you, you know."

"I figured it would be easier for you to stick with Casey."

"Easier for who?"

"I want you to be comfortable. I don't want you to think that I'm trying to get you back or something like that..." Chuck trailed.

"Chuck, we have a child together. I think that's as comfortable as it gets."

"Are you saying that you want to stay with me?" Chuck looked at Sarah with a confused face.

"I'm-" Sarah started.

"Dude, these rooms are adjoining!" Morgan opened his and Chuck's door with a huge smile, cutting Sarah off.

"See you two tomorrow." She half-smiled, and disappeared into her room.

"Damn it, Morgan." Chuck growled at his friend.

"What? What'd I miss?"

"I don't know, you ruined it."

"Sorry dude."

"You know, I don't really know what she's thinking half the time. I don't know if she wants me back or not." Chuck plopped onto his bed.

"Of course she does, you're Chuck Bartowski! You've just got to woo her. Honestly Chuck, you're at the Atlantis in the Bahamas. How much better could it get?"

"Goodnight, Morgan." Chuck laid back and closed his eyes. Could he really get his wife back without Gold's new intersect?

* * *

The next morning came quickly for the team, as they barely got any sleep. The sunrise was incredible, and Chuck was able to enjoy it from the balcony to his room while Morgan and Casey did some recon on the building's structure.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sarah's voice interrupted Chuck's thoughts.

"Extremely." Chuck smiled and turned around to face Sarah.

"Sorry, the door was unlocked."

"It's totally fine. How'd you sleep?"

"Casey snores like no other."

"Yikes. You definitely would've been better off with me." Chuck joked.

"Yeah, I would've." Sarah's response was serious. Chuck wasn't sure what had gotten into her, but he loved whatever it was.

"I uh, I think we should find the other two."

"Good idea." The two left the room, walking down the long hallway to the elevator in tandem. The walls were a beautiful sky blue, while the carpet was a deep cobalt color. They rode the elevator without much talking, focusing on the mission ahead. They cased the bar, the lounge, and finally the pool area, not seeing Morgan or Casey anywhere.

"Uh, Sarah?" Chuck stopped walking.

"What?"

"Isn't that Gold?" Chuck nodded to an older man, being lathered up with sunscreen by a few dazzling women in small bikini's.

"Yes." Sarah said through clenched teeth. She took a step in his direction, but Chuck grabbed her arm to stop her.

"We need a plan first. We can't go in blind." He whispered in her ear.

"Sorry, you're right. Let's find Morgan and Casey fast." She replied. They found their way out of the pool area, and went towards the resort's restaurant. Morgan was happily enjoying a pastry when Chuck and Sarah approached the table he and Casey were sitting at.

"So much for checking out the building." Chuck said.

"We did. Gold is by the pool, but we found his office." Casey replied.

"We've been waiting for you guys." Morgan added through a bite of his pastry.

"Where's the office?" Sarah asked urgently.

"Three doors down from the penthouse on the top floor." Morgan blurted. Sarah immediately turned around and headed for the main elevator.

"Really, Morgan?" Chuck asked before following the blonde. "Hey, we still need a plan, remember?"

"I'm not going to do anything drastic, Chuck."

"Well, it's a little hard for me to keep up with you right now, and my legs are longer. That means business."

"We need to bug the room. That way we know when he's in it and what he's up to."

"That's genius."

"That's being a spy." They entered the elevator, and Sarah pressed the top button.

"I'm on your side, Sarah. You don't have to justify what you do."

"Then what's with the twenty questions?"

"I just want to keep you safe."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know that, but that's not going to stop me from caring about you."

"I never asked you to stop caring about me." The words escaped Sarah's mouth before she realized what she was saying. Chuck stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Okay." Was all he said. The elevator stopped with a _DING!_ and the couple exited.

"Morgan said three doors away from the penthouse," Sarah walked down the hallway briskly, "Which must be this one." She stopped in front of a mysteriously unmarked door.

"It's our lucky day." Chuck said sarcastically.

"Why?"

"It's a manually locked door. And you're the master of picking locks." He smiled as her face lit up in amusement.

"Well then watch the master work." She took two small picks out of her back pocket and started to open the door. Within seconds, the two were inside. The office was nice, filled with books, a desk, and stacks of papers.

"Does he have a life?"

"This is all for the intersect." Sarah looked through the papers on the desk.

"He must really want his wife back." Chuck said sympathetically.

"Seems like a common theme." Sarah looked to the nerd. Suddenly, the door handle started to move. Sarah had to act fast in order to keep up their cover. She pulled Chuck close and started a major kiss. Chuck's eyes widened before he let himself melt into what was happening. It didn't take long for the awkward kiss to turn into something much hotter.

"Hey! How'd you get in here?" A man in a suit entered the room. Sarah took her lips away from Chuck's.

"Sorry, does this room belong to someone? We're on our honeymoon." She smiled, changing her tone to that of a high-pitched girly girl.

"Get out." The man said forcefully. Chuck and Sarah left, Sarah placing a bug on thee bookshelf before exiting.

"I had to act fast, Chuck." Sarah looked to her partner after the door closed behind them.

"Sure. Yep." Chuck was still dumbfounded.

"Let's get back to the rooms. Text Casey, we have some work to do." After the team regrouped, it only took them a few hours to come up with a plan and execute it. All they had to do was arm up and wait for Gold to get back to his penthouse. He spent most of his time in his office, calling different companies and dealers about the intersect project he was working on. At about seven o'clock, he turned in for the night.

"Now's our chance." Sarah said, her earpiece picking up Gold's whereabouts.

"Alright, but we have to be smart."

"Just grab your gun and let's go."

"Grimes and I will take out his guards at the beginning of the hall. You two will do the rest." Casey said, cocking his gun.

"Let's do this." Morgan said enthusiastically. Casey took out three of the guards, while Morgan only had the strength for one. Chuck and Sarah waited for their okay before heading towards the penthouse at the end of the hall.

"Chuck?" Sarah stopped in the middle of the hallway, only a few feet away from the door Gold was behind.

"What is it?" Chuck looked back and lowered his tranquilizer gun.

"I just want to say thank you." Sarah's whole face had softened.

"For what?"

"Everything. Without you, I'd be even more lost than I am now."

"It's my job to help you, Sarah. I'm always going to be your partner, married or not." Chuck flashed one of his famous smiles, and Sarah couldn't help but follow suit.

"You always manage to make me feel better." She accidentally said aloud.

"Ditto." He eased her embarrassment quickly, and turned back around to face the mission at hand.

"One more thing," Sarah said, causing Chuck to turn around once more, "That kiss earlier...it wasn't all a cover. I mean, at first it was, but then..."

"I know." He chuckled.

"You do?"

"I know the difference between a real kiss and a cover kiss, Sarah. I didn't say anything, because I'm here to help you remember. The old me would've had a million ideas to get you back, but I've learned that with you it's better for you to figure things out on your own."

"Right." She nodded quickly.

"Not that I didn't enjoy it, because I did. It's been a long time since we've done that..." Chuck trailed.

"I get it, Chuck." Sarah stopped his rambling habits. "We'll talk after all of this is over."

"Of course." He smiled once more.

"You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." They kicked open the door at the same time, and came face to face with the man that could solve all of their problems.


	9. Chapter 9

**A?N: I always post an author's note, just for a personal update. I've updated my other two active stories on this site, and it feels good to get back to it! I'll be honest when I say that it's been a while since I've watched an episode of Chuck. I try to watch one or two episodes before coming back to writing, only to better my character dialogue. Nobody likes reading a fic that completely ruins the voice of our favorite characters! I've gone back and read the comments, and boy are they harsh. I'm sorry if this story doesn't please you guys, but it is what it is. I'm sure my readers will have something to say about this chapter, so don't be afraid to say it. Again, this story is mine, and I'll write it how I feel it's meant to be written. I appreciate every single comment, because criticism does make a writer better. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the rest of the story as well. Thanks!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

"Hands up, now." Sarah wasted no time with her words. Gold slowly turned around, placing his hands in the air.

"Derek." He spat, knowing immediately it was his own flesh and blood who gave him up.

"You really shouldn't tell cowards like him where you're staying. It was too easy once we told him what he wanted to hear." Sarah smirked.

"Where's the intersect?" Chuck asked. Gold started to laugh.

"The intersect? You're joking right? The intersect is long gone."

"Then what were you doing with me?"

"You have a very unusual brain, Mr. Bartowski."

"Answer his question." Sarah stepped closer.

"We realized that we couldn't recreate the program Orion invented, so we tried coming up with our won. Once we figured out that wouldn't work either, we went to you."

"You took something out of my head." Chuck stated. "I remember feeling lighter."

"There's a core processor in everyone's mind. The part that makes us who we are. Walker here had hers suppressed."

"How do you know that?" Sarah demanded.

"I know a lot of things." Gold smiled evilly.

"Did you get it to work?"

"That's the thing, the core processor in your brain is the key."

"The key to what?" Chuck asked. Gold stayed silent. "The key, _to what_?" He reiterated. The next moment flew by so quickly, Chuck barely knew what was happening. Gold launched himself out the window behind him, falling countless stories to his death.

"NO!" Chuck and Sarah both screamed, watching their main link to Sarah's memories fall into the glass.

"Dammit!" Sarah shouted, throwing the chair behind the desk and slamming a fist onto Gold's laptop.

"It's okay, we'll figure something out." Chuck was shocked, but still tried to reassure her.

"Like what, Chuck?" Sarah yelled. "It's over." She left the room in a frenzy, sending Casey and Morgan in to the room.

"Did he give anything up?" Morgan asked.

"Not really." Chuck sighed.

"Maybe there's something here..." Casey trailed, trying to be positive for his friends.

"We can check, but at this point I'm not sure there is."

"You can't give up, Chuck. We'll find something."

"Let's hope."

* * *

Chuck didn't know how to act with Sarah after the incident with Gold. He had an idea of what she was going through, but he wasn't in her shoes. Gold had been so close to their grasp, only to outsmart them before the could close their fists around him. Once they got back to Sarah's they spent the entire day with Emma. After what the previous day had thrown at them, it was nice to spend time as a family. Chuck would find himself glancing at Sarah every now and again, noticing the genuine happiness their daughter brought her. Dinner was silent that night, and after dinner wasn't much better.

"Thanks for today." Chuck stood in front of the main door to the house, holding his coat in his right hand, car keys in the left.

"Sure." Sarah forced a smile.

"Look, Sarah..."

"Can we not talk about anything right now? We had a good day, and I want it to stay that way."

"Of course."

"Daddy!" Emma interrupted their small talk, leaping into Chuck's arms.

"God, you're getting heavy." He laughed.

"That's because mom forces me to eat broccoli." Emma frowned.

"Good for mom." Chuck gave Sarah a look.

"Can daddy stay and read me a bedtime story?" Emma looked to Sarah.

"I think daddy has to get home, Em. It's late."

"_Please_?"

"If he wants to." Sarah avoided eye contact with her ex.

"Why not?"

"Yay!" Emma got down from Chuck's grasp and bounded up the stairs.

"I'll be quick." Chuck said to Sarah, before following his daughter up to her room. Sarah followed them a few minutes later, sitting outside Emma's room, listening to the two share a moment. Even if she never regained her memories, she knew she wanted to be here. She knew she would need Chuck for the rest of her life, and she knew that raising Emma would bring her happiness. Maybe this is the life she _had_ always wanted, but she never knew she could have. She leaned against the wall outside of the room, waiting to get up until Chuck came out.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Sarah whispered to Chuck, closing Emma's door softly.

"Always." He smiled.

"Why me?"

"What?"

"You could have anyone in the world, Chuck. You could be doing anything. Yet here you are, with me, after everything I've put you through."

"Because I love you. And you haven't put me through anything. You had something terrible happen to you, and that's not your fault. Someone else did this."

"But I'm not who you fell in love with, I know that. I hear the things you say about me, and they aren't me. Honestly, all I know is the spy game, I don't know if I'm capable of love or motherhood."

"You are who I fell in love with. You're Sarah Walker, aren't you? Super spy? Who kicks ass and looks hot as hell doing it?" He laughed.

"About the kiss yesterday..."

"You felt something." He said, as a statement, not a question.

"Yes." She confessed. "I'm not sure what. I don't know that I've ever felt it before."

"That, Sarah, was love."

"Love? I think I'd know what that feels like."

"You just said you didn't know if you were capable, but you are. You love me, admit it."

"Why are you such a good man? I mean, I know that there are good guys out there, but I can safely say that I've never met anyone quite like you. You don't force things, you never give up on people, and you'd give your life for a stranger. You have such a pure heart, Chuck Bartowski." She avoided his statement, placing her hands on his chest, her right hand directly over his heart. As soon as she looked up at him, she knew it was over. The wondering, the avoidance, the struggle of keeping to herself. She had let him in, she trusted him, she did love him.

"My dad was a great man, and he taught me everything there is to know." Chuck looked down at the blonde, wanting so badly to kiss her in this moment.

"I wish I could've met him." Sarah smiled.

"You did." Chuck noticed her hands still resting on his chest.

"I wish I remembered meeting him."

"You will."

"The waiting is the hard part I guess."

"No Sarah, the hard part was getting to this point again."

"You want to know the truth?"

"Sure."

"When we kissed on the beach seven years ago, I felt everything I had talked about in the videos Casey gave me. I didn't exactly know what it meant, but now I do. So much of this was confusing, I just didn't know what to do. I may have been slightly tipsy the night Emma was conceived, but I wouldn't change any moment with you for the world."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that memories or no, I'm not going anywhere. I'm tired of running from how I feel." Sarah stood on her toes, kissing Chuck softly. At first. Chuck wasn't sure how to respond, as this was the moment he had been waiting for since Morgan suggested a magical kiss in the first place.

"Wait, why are you telling me this now?" Chuck pulled away, confused.

"Because I think I just figured out why I've been feeling so incomplete. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be doing things alone. And I don't want to be alone anymore, I don't want to be without _you_ anymore." Her face showed ore vulnerability than Chuck had ever seen. He took her face in his hands and kissed her lips with an incredible love, a love that Sarah had never felt. In that moment, it felt as though a boulder was being removed from her head, she felt lighter somehow. A flash of French scenery and a balcony under moonlight flashed through her brain.

"What?" Chuck noticed a shift in her expression.

"I didn't fall in love with James Bond, I fell in love with you." Sarah looked at Chuck in realization.

"You remember?"

"I remember that." She looked down and frowned slightly. "Why do I remember that?"

"Maybe we need to stop trying so hard to fix that beautiful brain of yours. Maybe the answer is to let it happen in it's own time."

"You're pretty smart, Mr. Bartowski." Sarah looked back up and smiled.

"So I've been told." Chuck smiled.

"You know, Emma will probably be asleep for a while thanks to you. You can stay if you want."

"Is that an official invitation?"

"It is."

"Well I'd love to stay, but I don't know how my wife would feel about it."

"Something tells me she's all for it." Sarah kissed Chuck once more, this time leading him into her bedroom. Finally opening herself up (soberly), she gave everything she had to Chuck Bartowski. All of her heart, her emotions, her being. Everything she was made of once again belonged to the brown-haired nerd underneath her.

* * *

Sarah woke up to the sound of silence, a sound she hadn't heard in the longest time. She took a breath in and stretched, turning over to face Chuck. She was surprised when she saw nothing but sheets where his sleeping body had been only a few hours earlier. She rubbed her eyes, confused as to why he would've left without saying goodbye. Maybe what she said scared him off? Maybe she went a little too overboard with how many times they decided not to sleep the night before. Sarah pushed the covers off of her bare body, and slipped on her red robe that hung on the closet door to her left. She headed downstairs slowly, checking Emma's room as she went.

"Where did they go?" She asked herself, walking downstairs. She found Emma in the living room, watching cartoons and eating waffles.

"Mommy!" The blonde child squealed.

"Where'd you find the waffles?" Sarah asked her daughter.

"Daddy's in the kitchen." Emma pointed the space Chuck currently inhabited.

"Of course he is." Sarah smiled. She walked to the kitchen, continuing to smile as she watched Chuck struggle over the waffle machine. "Cooking isn't your strong suit."

"Maybe not, but at least I'm trying." Chuck whipped around to see Sarah standing in the doorway.

"I thought you left."

"After last night? No way." He smiled. "Speaking of, what exactly did happen last night?"

"I think we failed our mission in the Bahamas." Sarah started walking towards Chuck.

"We did." He held eye contact.

"So we came back here to spend time with Emma." She inched closer.

"We did." He smiled with each small step Sarah took.

"We kissed."

"We definitely did."

"And I think we may have had sex. More than once." Sarah stopped in front of him, putting her arms around his neck.

"I vaguely remember that, but you may have to remind me." Chuck kissed her, letting his hands go wherever they wanted.

"Chuck?" Sarah pulled away.

"Yeah?"

"I like this...us...but I don't exactly know what this is." Sarah trailed.

"Hey, I'm not forcing you to make a decision about your life or anything. I'm okay with taking time to figure things out." He said.

"I don't want to disappoint you."

"Daddy?" Emma broke the moment between the adults.

"Uh, yeah, you got the, thing, off your face." Chuck coughed, looking at Sarah, then to Emma, "What's up, princess?" He walked over to his daughter and picked her up.

"Can we go to the zoo today?"

"I think we could manage that." He laughed.

"Can mommy come?" Emma looked to her father. Sarah and Chuck exchanged a look.

"Sure, why not?" Sarah smiled. Chuck put his daughter down, seeing his phone light up on the counter in front of him. Sarah's eyes noticed the light as well. "It's Casey."

"Why don't you go get Emma dressed? It'll only be a second."

"As long as you fill me in."

"Of course." He smiled as she left the kitchen. He picked up the phone as fast as he could. "What's up, Casey?"

"We found something, Bartowski."

"Found something?"

"There's an encrypted code on his backup files of his computer. It's a pretty large file from the looks of it."

"You think it's the new intersect?"

"You said they took something from your head, right?"

"Yeah."

"Looks like we'll need your computer skills, pronto." Casey grunted on the other line.

"Do you think this is what we need?"

"If it is what I think it is, Bartowski, then yes."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: It's been a pretty long time since I've updated this story. To be honest, I kind of forgot about it, because it's my least successful story on this site. But thanks to a fan inboxing me about it, I've decided to venture back to it.**

**Fanficreader89, I'm dedicating this chapter to you and your family. I cannot begin to thank you enough for the words of encouragement and the kindness you've shown to my abilities as a writer. You are an incredible person, and I wish I knew you. I hope that you and your family enjoy this next chapter, I made sure to make it longer than usual.**

**Thank you to everyone reading this story, I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

Sarah was hesitant to let Chuck go to the base by himself, but after a decent amount of pleading and reasoning, she decided to stay home with Emma and let him go. She always wanted to be part of the action, and that's only one of the things Chuck loved about her. He found himself racing to the base, unsure of what he'd descover, but willing to try anything. Once he got there, Morgan and Casey were ready.

"Where are the files?" Chuck asked.

"On that computer." Morgan pointed to a laptop sitting on a nearby table.

"Did you look through them?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't make sense of them."

"Let's quit yapping and get to it, eh?" Casey chimed in. Chuck instantly went to the computer, digging through everything.

"Anything?" Morgan asked.

"Give me some space." Chuck replied, not looking away from the screen. He stayed at the laptop for a few minutes, searching for anything he could. When he finally looked away, he was defeated.

"What?" Casey asked.

"There's something encrypted deep in the files, but the information is backed up by an embedded code. Only the user would know the code. He set up a damn fail-safe."

"There's no way you can hack it?" Morgan tried to offer positive outlook.

"No. This is too advanced, even for me."

"There has to be another way..."

"There isn't!" Chuck erupted. "Sorry, buddy. It's just hard."

"Maybe we could go back to Gold's office and find something that would lead us to the code." Casey suggested.

"I don't think he'd leave anything laying around for us to find." Chuck responded glumly.

"Maybe it would be something in plain sight that he wouldn't think we'd actually guess." Morgan added.

"I think it's time we just give up. We've tried everything."

"That's not who we are, Chuck. We don't quit." Morgan demanded.

"As much as I hate to admit it, the moron is right. We've gone through too much to call ourselves quitters." Casey grunted.

"I appreciate the optimism guys, but I'm tired. I've been doing this for too long."

"And now you're just going to quit?"

"I need to talk to Sarah."

"Good idea. She'll get you motivated." Casey said.

"Thanks for trying, guys. It means a lot that you're still here."

"We promised we would be. Team Bartowski is a forever commitment." Morgan smiled.

"Yeah." Casey nodded.

"Can I take the computer with me? Maybe I'll find something."

"Sure, it's yours." Casey handed the laptop to Chuck carefully.

"I'll call you later." Chuck left the building as quickly as he had entered it. When he got into his car, he broke down. There had been so much going on for so long that he had almost forgotten how to be a real person. All he ever did was worry about Sarah and try to figure out what had gone wrong. Now, he was wondering if he had wasted all this time. He wanted to start living for himself again.

* * *

**April 16th, 2012**

_Living with Chuck for two months hadn't been the smoothest transition for Sarah. Every night she spent with the nerd, she wished she had stayed at her hotel room. He woke up earlier than he every morning to make breakfast, and constantly called or followed her around during the day to make sure she was doing okay. This day in particular, he watched her flipping through channels on the couch._

_"Find anything good?" He asked from the kitchen._

_"I wouldn't still be looking if I had." She mumbled._

_"What?"_

_"Nothing." She replied louder. "Look, I've been meaning to talk to you." She got up from the couch._

_"Okay." He placed a plate in front of her on the table as she walked over to it._

_"I think I should go back to the hotel." She stated._

_"What?" Chuck was taken by complete surprise. "I thought things were going good?"_

_"They are, I just feel...suffocated. I really appreciate everything you're trying to do, but I need some time."_

_"You can have time here."_

_"Chuck," She looked straight into his chocolate brown eyes, "I need to go."_

_"I get it." He looked down._

_"I'll be back, I promise. I just need to get away for a while."_

_"Where are you gonna go?"_

_"I don't know, that's the point."_

_"Will you at least tell me when you do know?"_

_"I don't think that's a good idea, Chuck." She walked back to the living room and started packing up some of her things._

_"But you're my wife." The words left his mouth softly, but Sarah still heard them._

_"I'm not." She stopped packing. "I'm not your wife. That's why I need to go. This is too confusing for you, and for me."_

_"I know your memory is in there somewhere, Sarah. We just have to keep looking." He pleaded._

_"We've been looking. I'm tired of looking." She looked at him with a sympathetic expression. "Aren't you tired?"_

_"No. I don't give up, especially on the ones I love. I love you more than you could possibly imagine, and I will fight for the both of us until my dying day."_

_"You keep fighting then, I need some time."_

_"Why won't you stay?"_

_"I can't."_

_"Says who?"_

_"My heart."_

_"You're telling me that being here doesn't feel familiar to you?"_

_"No, and even if it did, that doesn't mean it feels right."_

_"I'm trying here."_

_"You're not the problem, Chuck. I am. And I know that sounds cliche, but it's the truth. I don't want to lie to you, and I really don't want to hurt you, but I can't stay here. Not now."_

_"What changed?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"Bull. You've been here for three months trying to figure things out, why leave now?"_

_"Because it doesn't feel right, that's the point."_

_"So that's it?" He gave her the most defeated look she had ever seen._

_"I'm not saying that."_

_"Then what are you saying?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"That doesn't help me!" He raised his voice._

_"I don't know what to tell you. I'm trying to be honest!" She raised hers right back._

_"I guess your honesty isn't good enough, is it?" He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Sarah stood there for a second before reaching for the duffel she had just filled. "Sarah, I'm sorry."_

_"This will be good for you, too."_

_"Promise me you'll come back." He stated. She looked back at him once she reached the door._

_"Someday, you'll be happy again." And with that, she left the apartment._

* * *

**Present 2019**

Chuck took his time getting back to the house. He knew that as soon as he walked through the door, Sarah would know the bad news. He had only been gone for an hour and a half, and his face was too easy for her to read. The good thing about having a spy as a partner, was that when you didn't want to talk, you didn't have to. Once he pulled into the driveway, he stayed in the car. He didn't want to face her.

"Nothing good, I take it." Sarah was in the car quicker than he could realize.

"I think the files are definitely what we're looking for." He sighed.

"But?"

"But they're encoded too deep. I can't get to them. Only Gold would've known the password to breakthrough the wall."

"You tried everything?"

"Of course I did." He snapped. "Sorry." He immediately corrected himself.

"I get it, you're frustrated."

"Do you remember when you left?"

"Which time?" She mumbled.

"The first time. A few months after Quinn took your memories."

"Oh, yeah, I do. Why?"

"Do you remember what you said to me before you walked out?"

"Not really."

"You told me you were tired of looking. Tired of looking for ways to fix your mind."

"Okay?"

"I'm tired now." He looked at her, his head resting on the seat.

"You don't want this?" She asked.

"I don't mean that." He took her hands in his. "Of course I want you, you're the love of my life." He noticed the uncomfortable shift in her eyes.

"Then what are you saying?"

"This is enough for me. I don't care about the past. We can be together from here on out, and make the best of it."

"But we've been fighting for this for so long."

"I know."

"I've gone through a lot to get here and get my memories back."

"I know, so have I."

"Which is why I don't understand where this is coming from. You don't quit."

"I'm sorry, Sarah. I just can't keep feeling like this will never end." He opened his door and got out. Sarah followed him into the house, not willing to let him off easy.

"All of this because you couldn't crack a stupid code?"

"No, all of this because we've spent too long trying to fix something that can't be fixed."

"Have you thought of any alternatives?"

"Such as?"

"I don't know, asking his son?" She asked. Chuck stopped dead in his tracks.

"His son."

"Yeah, Derek."

"No, I mean, what if that's the code?" Chuck rushed back out to the car and grabbed the laptop. He opened it, clicked on the files, and entered DEREK into the computer. Nothing happened.

"Damn it." Sarah huffed.

"What if he knows?"

"Knows what?"

"The code. What if Gold told him, just in case?"

"I don't think he's going to tell us, we basically killed his father."

"Maybe he doesn't have to tell us directly."

* * *

**Present 2019**

"Really? How did they let you in here? You aren't even real agents." Derek smirked as Team Bartowski landed in front of his prison cell.

"Nice to see you, too." Sarah spat.

"We're here to ask you a few questions, dirtbag." Morgan chimed in. He received a glance from Chuck, causing him to back off.

"Your dad left some interesting files on his computer." Chuck said.

"Ha, good luck trying to read them." Derek snickered.

"So you do know they're encoded?" Case asked.

"Of course I do. You really think my dad would leave those open?"

"If you tell us, we'll make sure you're out in a few years." Sarah said.

"Yeah, right. I'd rather kill myself than believe the crap you just made up."

"It must be really hard for your mom." Chuck changed the subject.

"What?" Derek whipped his head in Chuck's direction. He had obviously hit a soft spot.

"You know, since you're locked in here. There's no one to go see her."

"Don't you dare."

"We might have to go check up on her."

"Brickhaven Insane Asylum right?" Sarah looked to Chuck.

"Right, Marcy Gold."

"It's Elizabeth." Derek sneered. Before he could take it back, he had realized what he'd done. "Wait."

"Thank you so much for your cooperation, enjoy life in prison." Chuck smiled, leading the team away from the creep.

"Wait! You can't do this!" Derek's screams disappeared as they left the building.

"How did you know that would work?" Morgan asked.

"Because he's an egotistical asshole." Sarah answered for Chuck.

"He can't not be right. I knew he'd correct me." Chuck added. Once they got to the car, he took out the laptop. "Shall we try it?"

"Ready when you are." Sarah nodded. Chuck entered ELIZABETH into the computer, and a wave of information crowded the screen.

"What is that?" Casey asked.

"The files." Chuck couldn't look away from the screen.

"Do you know what they mean?" Sarah asked.

"They took information out of the deepest cortex of my brain."

"So?"

"The part that retains the intersect. The part that makes it work."

"So basically they removed your brain?"

"Well, no. Just the cells that soak up the information that no one else can."

"They turned cells into files?"

"They turned them into a brain mapping system."

"Okay, what does all of this mean?"

"It means that we can get your memories back."

"How?"

"All we need to do is transfer these files to a genetic make up and implant it into your brain. Ellie can help, no problem." Chuck looked to the blonde bombshell.

"I can be me again?" She asked.

"You can be you again." He smiled his famous Chuck Bartowski smile.


End file.
